Boiling Springs Tavern

5 STARS! I Loved this place!!! The food was EXCELLENT and so was the service. The back room was a little cold. But I bet once it fills with people it warms up. I had the crab cakes and I would get them again in a heartbeat! We will definitely be back again and again :)

One of the best restaurants in the state right here in central PA.
I highly recommend this place.
My favorites are the fried cheese, New York strip, and Cobb salad.
Everything is fresh, the kitchen is clean and Mike at the bar is a treasure.
You won’t be disappointed

The food and service here could NOT be better. Have enjoyed their cuisine and friendly atmosphere for years. Today took a senior citizen in for lunch off hours and they could not have been more accommodating to her. I even ordered a takeout for my dog for a training class and it’s done to perfection! Can’t think of a single restaurant that takes such care of their customers!
Karen L. Steinrock
Mechanicsburg, PA 17 055

The BST has been one of my favorites for years. It’s location is perfect. The food quality is consistently good. And the tavern, lead by bar manager Michael Powers, is the BEST bar in central PA. Whether for a single outing, a date, or a group, the Boiling Springs Tavern is perfect. My favorite for a smaller party is one of the tavern tables or just a seat at the bar. In the dinning room seats in the back near the fireplace are best.

Had lunch here — food and service was excellent. I will definitely make it one of my destinations when I return.

It has been awhile since I have been to the Boiling Springs Tavern. The service and food were very good. I ordered the Cowboy Pork Chop. It was excellent. Others in our party were pleased with their Crab Cakes, Ny strip, and seafood. A very nice meal to celebrate my Mother’s 80^th birthday.

My husband and I come here when we are in the area to fly fish. We usually enjoy a few IPA’s and love the seafood bisque. The coconut shrimp appetizer is good too. We usually stay entertained with the bartender and locals. I like the atmosphere.

My husband and I were first timers at The Tavern last night. We chose to sit at the bar, and as mentioned previously, Mike the bartender, was welcoming, very friendly, and kept us entertained.
My husband had the ahi tuna appetizer, which he enjoyed very much. I chose French onion soup which was quite flavorful. For an entrée, my husband had the filet mignon which was cooked perfectly and extremely tasty and tender… a quality he appreciates. I selected a veal special. The veal was tender, but sadly the sauce somewhat overpowered it and I couldn’t appreciate the taste of the veal. The vegetable sides were good, but nothing special.
While dining, we met a few of the locals sitting near us, and they too were extremely friendly. Overall, a good night! We will return.

The atmosphere, the service and food quality are the best. Ingredients are fresh quality and very well prepared. It is a great venue for special occasions or simple gatherings. I would be a regular if I lived near by.

I am a recent transplant form Colorado and came by the Boling Springs Tavern by recommendation. We had a table for four (4) at 630pm on a Thursday. The reservation was quite easy to secure and the young lady who took it was quite helpful. When we arrived we were promptly seated and the wait staff was courteous and attentive without being intrusive. The food was outstanding. I had the filet w/​shrimp and scallops (as add ons), the other meals were the veal and polenta, chicken and crabcakes and spaghetti carbonnara with chicken. Everyone raved about the food from appetizer through dessert. Personally, I found the steak cooked perfectly, the shrimp meaty without being over cooked and the scallops seared and firm (which is a difficult thing to pull off as scallops if undercooked are nasty and overcooked are rubbery).
Overall, I found it to be an outstanding experience. The prices were reasonable and the only complaint I could muster was the scotch selection as there were no high end spirits of that variety available (I had a double of Johnny Black, straight) which was mildly disappointing but if that is the worst I could find of the place then it is outstanding.

Fantastic food and great atmosphere. Mike at the bar is always there to say hello and seems to remember everyone’s name.
Everything I have gotten here has been great and would get again.

Ambiance and staff professionalism are top shelf. My Caesar salad was exceptionally tasty. The Asian Pork Tenderloin (pictured) wasn’t as good. The meat was very dry, the veggies were overwhelmed by spicy flavors, and the rice had been either cooked too long or left out too long (it was very tough to chew). I would definitely go back one more time to see if this experience was a fluke or not.

This place if very popular but I am not sure why. Being next to the lake is a nice setting but I only found the food average, and the menu less than exciting. Service was good.
I had the seafood bisque and there was very little seafood in it.
Maybe it is me.

My wife and I ate at the Tavern on November 1^st 2014. We called ahead and received an early dinner reservation. The staff was friendly and attentive. The single star is for the food. The first item we had was the seafood bisque. It was thin and had the consistency of half and half poured from the carton. It had a pronounced sherry flavor and the taste if not the texture was enjoyable. That enjoyment ended with the second spoonful which included a piece of imitation crab meat. You’ve seen it around, it’s the stuff at the grocery store that looks like white cylinders spray painted with red food dye. It’s usually made of pacific whiting or some other bland tasting fish and whatever else they toss into the vat. I’ve had seafood bisque at a few restaurants in different states. All of them had the sense not to include chunks of fake «crab meat» or Krab as some manufacturers of this product call it. Unfortunately the sense to exclude imitation seafood from the bisque is not present at the Tavern. Now don’t argue with me. I realize that technically imitation seafood is made from a creature that lived in the sea. But this isn’t a courtroom it’s an upscale restaurant. Our expectations are set a bit higher than what your uncle Ralph might pull from his freezer and throw into a pot. The bisque also included those tiny little frozen shrimp you can buy in bags at the the grocery store that are about the size of a dime and have a mealy texture. When you eat them you wonder what the point is because nothing about these small shrimp shaped objects reminds you of what is so enjoyable about shrimp. So the bisque was bad let’s move on to the other appetizers.
My wife had the fried cheese. It arrived cooked to an over fried dark mahogany brown. While the breading was not burnt it was also not enjoyable to eat. The cheese inside lacked a distinct flavor. It wasn’t mozzarella, it wasn’t cheddar, it was hot, gooey, white, and I assume, cheese. It was a perfect match to the breading, unenjoyable.
I ordered some oysters a la something. I like oysters. I like them raw and cooked. I don’t like them overcooked. These poor rubbery things had all of their juicy flavorful potential cooked out of them. To make up for the loss they were topped with chunks of smoked trout which had the texture of canned tuna fish.
Our entrees were both orders of crab cakes. I recall there being roasted potatoes on the side I think they were ok. There were also some par cooked seasoned vegetables on the plate.
The crab cakes. They arrived somewhat warm and the edges of the cakes barely toasted from what I assume was an oven. When I cut into the cake I was surprised at the undercooked bread pudding like consistency. And then came the flavor. My wife said hers tasted like liver pâté. I agreed. The cakes had a metallic flavor which might have come from canned meat. This would be remedied by soaking the meat for some time in milk but they obviously didn’t bother. So the texture was like an undercooked bread pudding with the metallic flavor of liver and the other seasonings along for the ride.
The irony is that the side vegetables which are usually sacrificial decoration destined for the trash can were the best thing on the plate. They were cooked perfectly, not too tender, not too crunchy, and seasoned nicely.
The best part of the meal was the company of my wife :) We’ll be enjoying each other’s company elsewhere in the future. We would not recommend the Tavern to anyone.
I have a general rule of thumb with respect to restaurants. I’m a decent cook but I don’t do it for a living. If I can do a better job preparing the same meal at home then why bother paying someone too much money to do a worse job than I can myself?

The duck is excellent. If you think smoked salmon is good, try their smoked Trout sandwich available off the bar menu. Extensive wine list, wonderful service. Kids menu has a shrimp basket my daughter loves.

Very underwhelming and very overpriced. Artichoke, spinach, and cheese appetizer was mushy and bland. The Spring salad w/​chicken entrée was pedestrian, and the chicken strips were nearly tasteless and overdone. A member of the party had the salmon entrée, which looked OK.
We were a large party (16) and we had to use two 8-​tops, which the manager refused to move closer together. No big deal, but there was no effort made to accommodate us.
On the bright side, the bread rolls were warm and truly exceptional, served with actual butter (not packets). Yum!
In summary: this is a VERY overpriced place with humdrum food, even considering the lack of competition in the area. Very nice surroundings and atmosphere, and not too noisy. Enjoy the bread and the bar.

I have heard of this place for a couple of years but never ventured out of the Carlisle area to head here. What a mistake!
The ride from 81 was very easy and relatively direct. The center of town where this is located is a very scenic town. The place itself is old but in good shape.
I sat up at the bar and it was a very friendly crowd. The bartender was a character and made me feel welcome.
I had the seafood bisque for a starter. The bartender added the sherry from the bar and then fresh pepper. The bisque was very tasty but a downside was that it had imitation crab.
I had a salad with bleu cheese dressing which fresh and tasty.
For an entrée I had a pecan encrusted chicken breaat. It was very large and was excellent.
I will definitely be back.

What a great dining experience. My friends and I showed up here after skiing without a reservation and at first were told by the greeter that there wasn’t room. However, another gentleman came out and said he could make something work. We were delighted as all of us were hungry and craving some good food.
They seated us at a large circular table near the back of the dining room. The lighting was a little dimmer than I would have preferred but suitable for this type of restaurant with a lodge-​like feel. The service was great too. Our waitress was very accommodating, patient with our orders and even willing to take several group photos for us.
On food, we were first brought fresh French bread rolls with butter and a small salad if lettuce, carrots, croutons, and radishes. Both were good though I wanted to make sure I saved room for the entrée. I ordered the filet mignon, which came with two small boiled potatoes and a serving of mixed vegetables. The meat itself was actually a bit disappointing. Though cooked well, the filet relief entirely on the steak sauce that came with it for flavor.
However, I also tried my friends’ dishes and they blew me away. A previous diner on his way out stopped by our group to recommend the cowboy pork chop special and after tasting a bite of my friend’s, I can see why. It was tender and flavorful, possibly the best pork chop I’ve ever tasted. Another friend ordered the Chilean sea bass which came served on top of a creamy linguine. Also amazingly delicious, albeit a bit unhealthy due to the amount of cream in the sauce. Both dishes were wonderfully executed.
My only regret for this meal: not saving room for dessert!

Lovely restaurant. I am South African and the food reminded me of the type of food I used to eat. Serving sizes are well portioned for a healthy amount to eat.

I have been here a few times and it is always wonderful…
The building is a historic old place with lots of charm… the bar is beautiful. Really nice place for a date or special occasion.
We started with the Baked Artichoke Dip and they had a special raw Tuna Carpaccio, I was a little suspect of raw fish in a country tavern… but to my surprise it was absolutely wonderful! and the dip was delicious.
I had the Scallops Mediterranean — everything I love Scallops feta cheese, tomatoes, kalamata olives, garlic butter and white wine over basmati rice — it was divine.
My date indulged a guilty pleasure with the Veal Benett, medallions of veal with artichoke hearts, fontina, roasted peppers, mushrooms and cream. I don’t usually eat veal, but I have to say it was wonderful.
The staff and the service here is first class, the waitress was extremely knowledgeable about the food and the menu, we had lots of questions and she was right on point.
The bar here is really nice also… if I lived closer I would frequent it often — no shortage of top shelf here.
I will be back — and it won’t be soon enough, this is one of the best restaurants in the Central Pa area.
Pro Tip — go here for a date or special occasion — bring along some stale bread lying around, or stop at the store and pick up a cheap loaf of bread. When your dinner is over there is a beautiful lake across the street which is perfect for a stroll — take your bread and feed the Ducks, Geese and if you’re lucky a Swan or two — they will come right up to you… perfect way to cap off a romantic evening — you’ll thank me!